Popularity of the mini van, the sport utility vehicle and the recreational vehicle has resulted in increased demand for improved collapsible furniture and particularly collapsible portable furniture of the outdoor type which may be readily stowed in a vehicle and conveniently manually transported to a picnic area or the site of a spectator event, such as, for example, an outdoor concert, a sporting event, a golf tournament, or an air show, where the general rule is to bring your own seating accommodations.
Considerable attention has been directed to the provision of improved collapsible furniture for the picnicker, sportsman, hunter, fisherman, hiker, biker and the like. However, the resulting furniture designs and particularly the designs for chairs and seats have usually incorporated some reduction in size, as compared to the full-sized article, with a corresponding reduction in the level of seating comfort. The wooden beach chairs and lawn furniture of an earlier era have generally been replaced by light-weight tubular metal furniture of a more modern design. However, little has been done to optimize the collapsibility and portability of the full-sized article without compromising comfort, which is a goal of the present invention.
Beach and lawn chairs adapted to be folded for transportation and/or storage typically have a frame fabricated from elongated structural members, preferably metal. The frames of such chairs have transversely spaced-apart left-hand and right-hand frame side assemblies that are substantially parallel to each other. In a set-up condition, each frame side assembly has a front leg member extending in a generally vertically upward direction and a rear leg member pivotally connected at its upper end directly or indirectly to an upper end of the front leg member and which is rearwardly and downwardly inclined from the upper end of the front leg member. Such frame side assemblies also include an upwardly extending chair back support member which is pivotally connected at its lower end to the rear leg member intermediate the ends of the rear leg member by an over-the-center linkage that positions the back support member so that it is supported at its lower end on the rear leg member and inclined upwardly and rearwardly therefrom when the chair is unfolded from its closed or flatly folded storage condition to its open or set-up condition for use. Such frame side assemblies also include a seat support member generally supported by the front and rear leg members in a generally horizontal condition when the chair is in its set-up condition.
Conventional beach and lawn chairs of the prior art having the left-hand and right-hand frame side assemblies such as hereinbefore generally described also commonly have transversely extending rigid connecting members providing fixed connection between the front leg members, the rear leg members, and often the back support members as well. Additional rigidly fixed transverse connecting members may also extend between the structural members that support the seat of such a chair. The aforesaid rigid or non-collapsible transversely extending connecting members are generally horizontally disposed when such a conventional prior art chair is in its set-up condition.
Such prior art chairs provide the convenience of easy fold-up, and are lightweight so as to permit easy transportability. Common uses for such chairs are at the beach or at a picnic where easy set-up and break-down, as well as the ability to carry the chair along with other things, is desirable. Due to the intricate interconnection of all the frame members, both front-to-back and side-to-side, such chairs often require all the legs to remain in contact with the ground to ensure safety and structural integrity of the chair during use. However, there is a desire for a rocking chair that is likewise foldable and portable, so that a user at a picnic or an outdoor event can rock in their chair or recline as desired. Prior art foldable and portable chairs, such as those described above, have not been capable of rocking due to the design and construction of such chairs. Adding components to help the user rock in the chair while seated has often compromised the ability to fold the chair for storage or keep it sufficiently lightweight for easy transportation. Moreover, existing foldable rocking chair design, such as illustrated in FIG. 1, are typically not suitable for most outdoor uses, especially on soft ground or sand. The limitations of such prior art chairs are mostly due to the use of arched rails to support the chair frame. With such arched rails, each side of the chair only maintains a single contact point with the ground, which on sand or soft ground increases the risk that one or both sides of the chair will sink into or get bogged down, affecting rocking of the chair and, more significantly, affecting the integrity and safety of the chair to support a seated user.
An additional limitation of prior art rocking chairs, such as shown in FIG. 1, is that they can only be used as a rocking chair, and cannot be stabilized to be used as a normal chair that does not rock.
Other chair designs have been developed that can be folded to a collapsed or bundled state occupying less storage space. For example, some chair designs can be folded in multiple directions, reducing at least the front/back and left/right dimensions between an unfolded set-up condition and a folded, storage condition. However, these chair designs are typically not suitable for certain outdoor uses, such as at the beach or at a picnic. Heretofore, multi-directional foldable chairs have not been capable of rocking due to the complexity of the means of connecting the various frame members constituting the chair frame, as well as the need to keep all the legs of such chairs grounded to ensure safety and integrity of the chair during use.
In view of the foregoing, there is a need for a chair that can be rocked by a seated user when in a set-up condition that can also be collapsed in order to reduce the space occupied by the chair in a folded condition. Further, there is a need for such a chair that can be folded with minimal effort, without limiting or compromising the structural features permitting rocking of the chair. Further, there is a need for a chair that can be rocked by a seated user, as desired, without compromising the folding and transport or the chair, and without affecting the safety and structural integrity of the chair, especially on all types of surfaces, including soft ground and sand. Accordingly, it is a general object of the present invention to provide a foldable and portable rocking chair design that overcomes the problems and drawbacks associated with folding chairs and rocking chairs, and therefore significantly improves the utility of such a chair in the set-up condition while permitting easy transportation and/or storage in a collapsed condition.
In general, there is a need for a collapsible chair that can be easily folded by a user with minimal effort, and which, when set-up, can be used both as a standard, stabilized chair, or alternately, as a rocker, without the need for the user to change the structure of the chair, in any way.
The present invention addresses these issues, and provides a means to circumvent the associated drawbacks of such prior art foldable chair designs.